This thesis investigates employee attitudes to corporate citizenship (CC) and
the impact on employer brands. It addresses the practice of CC in the German
FMCG industry, considers employee understanding of CC, and examines which
CC initiatives influence perceptions of employer brands.
The research is driven by the dual challenges of sustainable development and
the ‘war for talent’ in attracting, motivating and retaining employees. It is
underpinned by the extant literature on CC dimensions, stakeholder theory and
employer brands.
The research approach is based on two case studies, comprising three phases:
analysis of corporate documentation followed by two phases of semi-structured
interviews exploring employees’ perceptions of CC and the link to employer
brands.
Key findings: An understanding of the positioning of CC in the corporate
sustainability strategy and differing foci of CC, including environment,
sustainable supply chain and people/culture. The study highlights employee
understanding of eight CC dimensions, revealing economic responsibility
toward employees as a new dimension. With respect to employer brands, CC
initiatives focused on discretionary responsibility towards the natural
environment and economic responsibility towards customers are seen as
essential; legal, ethical and discretionary responsibility towards community are
limited; and discretionary and economic responsibilities towards employees
have a strong relationship. A focus on economic responsibilities towards owners
has a strong but negative relationship.
The theoretical contribution is a conceptual framework of all identified CC
dimensions in practice and their relationship to employer brands.
Contributions to practice include the importance of benefit packages, work-life
balance support, employee development and work environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/7513 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Hoffmann, Sabine |
| Contributors | Wright, Gillian H., Spicer, David P. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, School of Management |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, DBA |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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